Yet another TUp 100 project
by I'mafreakinStarshipRanger
Summary: Yes, yes, I know. Not very original. but i was stuck in a writers block and decided to do one of these. rated T for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Introduction

Up had taken Spanish in high school. But the only words he remembered were _hola_, _gracias, _and a couple of swear words that Commander Lopez would use during missions, but those would hardly be useful in his current situation.

He was still honored that Commander Lopez invited him to his daughter's _quinceanera _though. Hardly any Lieutenants got to be a part of their Commander's personal lives. But him and Up were close. He was pretty much Up's mentor, and the closest thing to a father he had.

He guided Up through the crowd of people,stopping every once in a while to introduce him to a member of his large family. Up would smile politely and nod, acting as if he could understand a word of their fast Spanish.

"Oh, there she is!" Lopez said, dragging him to the left. "_Tasmine! Vienen aqui!" _

A small girl in a poofy white dress walked over to them. Lopez had told Up that his daughter was fifteen, but she look so tiny that she could easily pass for twelve. She looked exactly like a miniature, female version of her father, with the same raven-colored hair, hers in an ornate bun, and the same chocolate-brown eyes.

"_Que pasa?" _she asked, looking slightly annoyed. She had her father's voice too, a thick Hispanic accent.

"Tasmine, this is Lieutenant Up."

Up held out his hand, and she shook it. "So you're the Lieutenant that Papa's told me so much about?" She gave him a look that was so uncannily similar to the look her father always had when checking out the new recruits.

"Uh, yeah..." something about the way she studied him felt really unnerving.

"Interesting..."

"Tasmine!" they heard a woman call.

"Coming, Mama!" Tasmine called back. She turned back to Up, an amused expression on her face. "I gotta go." she said hurriedly. "See you later, _Teniente _Up."

She left, and as she walked away, Up noticed that she was wearing combat boots under her dress.

"Combat boots?" he asked.

Lopez smiled. "She sure is something else." he sighed. "She's gonna make a mighty fine Ranger one day."

Then, the explosions started.


	2. Chapter 2

Love

When Taz was very young, she made the horrible mistake of reading one of her mother's cheap romance novels. Needless to say, her innocent young mind was permanently scarred. There were plenty of things in there that a girl her age should _never_ have read.

That became what her idea of romance was. She couldn't understand why so many girls would dream of some guy swooping in, saving the day, and riding off with her in the sunset. Not only was it unrealistic, but it just seemed weak, letting some man save you. It wasn't until she met Up that she discovered that a lot of the things in the book were not true.

In the book, the man and woman knew they loved each other the moment they met. Taz didn't figure it out until a few years after knowing him, and she didn't tell him how she felt until long after.

In the book, the man and woman were completely flawless. Up looked ten years older than actually was, was annoyingly stubborn, had half of his body covered in scars, the other half of him was a robot, and while he was getting better, he was still pretty soft. Taz was short, short tempered, sometimes mean, dressed like a guy, and kept all her emotions besides anger bottled up inside her.

But in real life, their love was so much deeper, so much more pure. It was what kept them alive in battle, and what helped them go on after.

It was so much better than some stupid book.


	3. Chapter 3

Light 

Taz and Up climbed into the tiny rowboat. They had finally managed to ditch the others in the town, freeing them to catch the show on the lake together.

Taz had always wanted to go to Lake Starfield for the lantern festival. Her father had promised to take her to it, but he was killed before he could. Up knew he was a poor substitute, but it was the most he could do for her.

They paddled out to the center of the lake. Taz was practically buzzing with excitement as she looked out across the lake to the hill with the park on top, where the lanterns were going to be launched from.

Suddenly, Taz got a strange expression on her face. She was still smiling, but the rest of her body looked sad.

"What's wrong, Taz?" Up asked, concerned.

A silent tear rolled down her cheek. "Papa and I... we had always dreamed of doing this together. And we never got to..." she looked up at him, her brown and his blue eyes locking. "But don't get me wrong, Up, I'm glad to be here with you. It's _perfecto._"

He squeezed her hand, smiling kindly. "I know."

Suddenly, they saw a pinprick of light reflected in the water. Looking up, they saw the first couple of lanterns start to rise.

The shores were suddenly lit up with the lanterns, which were slowly rising like stars. It looked like something from a fairy tale. They floated gently above the lake to the center.

Soon, two (possibly more than) friends were engulfed in a blizzard of light. It was like standing in the stars.

Up looked to Taz, who was staring at the lights, awestruck.

_And at last I see the light,_

she looked to him, smiling with delight.

_And it's like the fog is lifted._

They turned to face each other.

_And at last I see the light,_

they inched closer.

_And it's like the sky is new._

He held her hand, his heart pounding like a drum.

_And it's warm and real and bright, _

She smiled up at him, a real, genuine smile.

_And the earth has somehow shifted._

He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, caressing her cheek.

_All at once, everything looks different, _

And then they kissed.

_Now that I see you._


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: thanks for all the reviews so far! I'm loving all the compliments, and really, without you guys, this would just be a random drabble on the back of my math homework. (Yes, yes, I know. I'm being really cheesy right now.) I just wanted to say that on my Tumblr account, I'm going to be posting some original work soon, so If you would like to check it out, my username is nevilleisourking. **

** Sorry about the prompts being so short, I promise that I have some longer ones planned for the future.**

** Enjoy! **

Dark

The words "light" and "love" are often associated with each other. And while it's true they do compliment each other very nicely, it's not the only kind of love.

Love can be dark too.

Dark love is when she tiptoes to his room late at night, her big brown eyes streaked with tears. She opens his door and says his name quietly. He sits up.

Dark love is when all he has to do is open up his arms, and she just runs into them. She cries into his chest, shaking as he wraps his arms around her. His heart breaks to see her so sad.

Dark love is when she traces the line on his chest between robot and man, saying that it's all her fault. He looks at her sternly, telling her to never, ever say that. He caresses her cheek, holding her closer to him.

He kisses her.

He's never kissed her before.

She kisses him back.

He runs his fingers through her choppy black hair, amazed that he found the courage to do what he'd wanted to do for years now.

Their lips part, and he braces himself for the smack of her hand hitting his cheek.

But it never comes.

He looks at her, and sees that she is touching her lips tentatively, as if trying to figure out what just happened. She mutters under her breath, words in her native tongue, words he never understood, but loved to hear in her sweet , heavily accented voice anyway.

She looks up at him, confusion in her chocolate brown eyes. Suddenly, before he even has time to react, she brings his face down to hers, kissing him passionately.

They relish the strange sensations running through their veins, filling them like pure electricity, knowing that they could get in big trouble, that what they're doing is so right, yet so wrong.

But they really couldn't give a damn.


	5. Chapter 5

Snack 

There are a few minor setbacks to having half a robot body. Not only did Up have the whole "I've-become-what-I-was-fighting-against" problem, but his right ear had super-enhanced hearing.

There was just some things he did not want to hear when trying to sleep.

One night, when he couldn't fall asleep due to some absurd noises coming from Krayonder's room, (_What the devil is going on in there?) _he decided to take a little walk around the starship. Walking would always clear his head, and he could tire himself out so he wouldn't even notice the noises.

He walked down the hall, and suddenly, his stomach growled. He hadn't eaten much at dinner. Since he was so close to the kitchen, he figured he'd just slip in and make himself a sandwich.

He walked in, and was greeted by a strange sight.

Taz, who was wearing fluffy red pajama pants and a black tank top, was sitting on the counter, hugging a bag of marshmallows. There was a glass of chocolate milk next to her.

She looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. There was a marshmallow in her mouth, which puffed out her cheeks like a chipmunk. She looked so adorable that Up couldn't help but laugh.

"Shut up!" she snapped, swallowing the marshmallow. She reached into the bag, grabbed a few, and chucked them at him.

Still laughing, he picked them up and threw them back, launching them into a full-fledged marshmallow war. By the time their sides were hurting from laughing so much, marshmallows were everywhere, including inside Taz's glass of chocolate milk, which miraculously hadn't tipped over during the fray.

Suddenly, they both noticed an odd lump inside Taz's shirt. "Is there a marshmallow in my bra?"

she started to reach in to pull it out, but then stopped, remembering that Up was there. He turned around, feeling just as awkward as her.

When he turned back, she was sitting there, cheeks still red, marshmallow in hand.

They looked at each other, the awkward silence building up until it snapped, and they were sent into another fit of laughter.

Every night after, Taz and Up would meet for a midnight snack.


	6. Chapter 6

Eyes

_What's your favorite color? _

Both Taz and Up had always thought that it was a stupid question. It was just sort of random, and after all, what did it really tell you about that person?

What they didn't know was that it actually told you a lot.

Everyone thought that Taz's favorite color was red, because she always wears red with everything. And she did like it, but it wasn't her favorite color.

Her favorite color was blue. But not just any shade of blue; a blue like the sea, that ebbed and flowed with every emotion. When _he _was mad, she could see the storm raging in them. When _he _was happy, they glowed and shined, reflecting the sun, moon, and stars. She would look at him, and find herself drowning in those beautiful pools of blue.

Up's favorite color was a strange one: brown. But, again, it couldn't be just any ordinary brown. It had to be the same shade of brown as milk chocolate. A warm brown that gave him a fuzzy feeling in his stomach. When _she_ was happy, he could see little flecks of gold in them that sparkled, even in the dark. When he would look at _her, _he would be able to feel the warmth radiating from her bright orbs of chocolate, wrapping around him like a blanket.

And when brown met blue, they felt a pull at their hearts, binding them to each other like two magnets.

A person's favorite color can tell you a lot about them.


	7. Chapter 7

Heaven

Why the G.L.E.E was convinced that robots that robots were hiding in _Middleofnowhereville, _Russia, was beyond Up. The only good reason for anyone to be there would be to capture Alaska via the Bearing Sea, but who would want Alaska?

Up had hoped to get something exciting for his first mission as Commander, but instead he was freezing his butt off in a frozen wasteland, without a single robot in sight. The only bright side to his situation was that Taz had gotten assigned to the mission too. It was her first mission, and she had been really excited to go.

She didn't look too excited then though, as she sat by the campfire, doing lookout duty with Up. She hated the cold, even more than Up did. She was so skinny that she had almost no way of storing body heat. She looked absolutely miserable, buried in layer upon layer of coats.

She looked at the fire enviously , as if wishing she could just jump into the flames.

"Up?" she asked, her voice a horse whisper.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think heaven looks like?"

Up really wasn't surprised she asked that question. When fighting in a war, people thought about death a lot more.

"Um... I dunno, I guess it would look a lot like earth."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but better. There would be no hunger, no poverty... no robots..."

She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "I don't want to freeze to death, Up. I want to die in battle, taking down as many robots as I can with me."

He put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. (In a strictly platonic way, mind you...) "You're not going to freeze to death, Taz. Not if I have anything to say in the matter."

She cuddled into his chest, causing him to feel an odd sensation in his stomach.

"That's..." she yawned. "That's good. Heaven... It wouldn't be much of a heaven without you."

She fell asleep in his arms.

It was at that moment that Up knew he was going to protect this girl, this beautiful woman, no matter the cost. If anyone or anything ever wanted to hurt her, they would have to get past him first.

And he would die before he would let anything get to her.

That was a promise.


End file.
